


The Books That Bind

by TheScholarlyStrumpet (equipoise)



Category: Hamish MacBeth (TV), Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Anyelle, Bellish - Freeform, Dorky Flirting, F/M, RSS, Rumbelle Secret Santa 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-20
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-05-07 18:50:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5467271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/equipoise/pseuds/TheScholarlyStrumpet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He'd already noticed the new librarian was pretty, but discovering they share a particular passion makes Belle French even more attractive to Hamish. </p>
<p>Rumbelle Secret Santa for lotus0kid<br/>Prompt: Nerds in the Shop</p>
<p> <a href="http://theespensonawards.tumblr.com/winners">2016 Espenson Award</a> winner for Best Bellish!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Books That Bind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lotus0kid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lotus0kid/gifts).



> beta'd by TheLadyoftheDarkCastle!

The little bell over the door tinkled as Hamish stepped into the book shop. The air was filled with dust and the dry, slightly sweet scent of old paper. He smiled. Hamish wasn’t that much of a reader, but he did love the smell of books. There was something earthy and honest about them. Kept him feeling grounded.

Today, he was a man on a mission. _To Die in the Saddle_ by Chuck Sadler had finally been released and the only other bookstore in town didn’t have a single copy. This was the last stop before he got desperate enough to head up to Inverness. It had gotten mediocre reviews from critics but he could never resist the draw of a Sadler Western. The author, himself, had lived in Lochdubh for a time but never quite settled in. His wife had not gotten on well with the locals. They had moved on a while back but Hamish still exchanged Christmas cards and the occasional phone call with the man.

Hands in his jean pockets, Hamish perused the shelves for the title he wanted. The store was dimly lit and poorly organized but he couldn’t fault Widow Elbert, the old woman, who ran it. He took in the dozing proprietor at the register as he passed her. Head resting back against her chair, mouth parted in a light snore, she looked so peaceful he was loathe to disturb her until it was time to check out. He kept searching, shifting piles of books here and there, as needed.

The bell above the door sounded once more, still not waking Widow Elbert.

Hamish couldn’t see the newcomer over the tall shelf, so he stepped around it. There, he saw Ms. Belle French, the lovely little thing who’d just recently taken over the Lochdubh library.

They had barely exchanged two words since she moved to town. He’d swung by once or twice to say hello but she was always too busy to chat. The library wasn’t much bigger than the shop they currently occupied but Belle had decided to renovate as freely as the town ordinance would allow.

She had reorganized the place from top to bottom, renewing and invigorating the town’s waning interest in literature. He hadn’t seen so many people with books since Lachie Jr.’s radio station had been shut down.  He didn’t much care to think about that time in his life, these days. Isobel had moved away and they hadn’t spoken in a very long time. The memories still hurt, if he let them too far in. Backing away from the past, he refocused on Miss French. She hadn’t caught sight of him just yet, and he wasn’t ashamed of admiring the view until she did.

She wore a pale pink blouse tucked into a pink and green checkered skirt, cinched at the waist with a cream colored belt that matched the rather tall wedge sandals on her tiny feet. Her auburn hair was pulled away from her face, though curling tendrils had escaped, and the rest cascaded down her back. She looked so sunny and fresh-faced… like Springtime incarnate. He’d have been chatting her up for yonks now if she’d even shown the slightest interest. Despite her girlish appearance, she was all business when they spoke.

In fact, he hadn’t heard of anyone getting on with her beyond a kind smile and gracious decline. He knew that nearly half the male population of the town had tried, by now.

“Is it polite to stare where you come from?” Belle asked, finally lifting her gaze from the shelf in front of her. She raised one eyebrow, a smile playing around her lips. 

Hamish started as he realized she was addressing him. Shite. Well, it was a good thing he wasn’t trying to get a leg over. This would have been an awful way to start. He forced himself to relax. Casual. Cool. “Was just browsing the uh…” he glanced at the shelf in front of him, it seemed to contain mostly books on religion and the occult, “wrong shelf,” he concluded, shifting away.

She made a skeptical sound, but the corner of her mouth quirked upward. “How can you tell, in this place?”

Hamish ran a hand through his hair, nodding in agreement. “Aye, well, the Widow Elbert has had a hard time of it. Her husband was the one who really ran the place. I think she only keeps it open now out of habit.”

“Oh. I see.” A shadow passed over Belle’s face before she looked away. She took a breath and seemed to brighten up as she turned back to face him. “Well, it is my day off, so I’ve got plenty of time to find what I’m looking for. And I’ve certainly never minded being surrounded by books,” she laughed, lightly.

“Then you chose your profession well,” Hamish smiled in a way he had always assumed was rather winning. “What were you looking for?”

“Well, it’s for the library but, if I’m honest, I’ve been itching to read it, myself. We don’t have many new releases, you know? And I’ve been looking everywhere for the latest Chuck Sadler novel – have you heard of him?”

Hamish’s jaw dropped. “Heard of him? He’s only my favorite bloody writer!” Looks like that and she loves Westerns? He winged a prayer skyward that he wouldn’t fuck this up….

Belle bounced excitedly on her toes, rattling off her favorite titles. Hamish nodded after each one, sometimes commenting on his favorite characters. After Belle had settled down enough to do more than spout proper nouns, he discovered that her favorites characters all tended to be anti-heroes or strong heroines. Somehow, though he barely knew her, it didn’t surprise him in the slightest. She waxed poetic over the star-crossed love of Left Hand Dan and Lucille the saloon girl but her take was not what he’d have expected.

“No, it wasn’t because she didn’t love him!” Belle exclaimed, vehemently, “Lucille never stopped loving him, even after he shot Sheriff Willis during the jailbreak. She knew he’d never have done it if there was any other way. Willis would have killed them both, if he’d had half a chance.”

Hamish shook his head. “No, Willis was a good copper, not some stupid thug. He was just upholding the law.”

“The law was designed to keep men like Dan at a disadvantage. He had turned himself in. He was trying to atone! But they were going to hang him anyway. How can you call that justice?” Her eyes were wide and so very blue; Hamish felt like drowning in them.

Yet, behind her passion was an echo of something, a hidden pain that called to him. It occurred to him that Belle was a woman who truly seemed to understand loss. A chill went through him.

Then she was off again about the side adventures of the comic relief and that scene in the desert with all the snakes. It should have been a terrifying scene but Sadler had taken an unconventional route and written it for laughs. Soon, they were nearly doubled over as they recounted their own reactions to the much lauded twist in _Along That Dusty Road_.

“You know,” Hamish leaned one hip against the bookshelf as he caught his breath, “I’ve, uh, I’ve met him. The real Chuck Sadler.”

Belle’s eyes lit and he was feeling quite chuffed until she added. “Oh, me too! I used to work at the London office for Red House publishing. He came in quite a bit when he was working on _Wait Til Sundown_. Lovely man. Always brought biscuits.”

Hamish’s face fell. “Oh. Yeah. Lovely man.”

Belle’s hand flew to her pretty pink mouth. “Oh… oh dear. Was that a line? It was, wasn’t it?” Her cheeks flushed slightly and her lips pressed together. “Umm, look, let’s start that over, shall we? Go on, say it again and I will look far more impressed this time. Promise.” Guileless blue eyes blinked up at him, but there was a delicious hint of mischief in them.

Even further charmed by her teasing, Hamish’s disappointment fell away. “That’s alright. As far as lines go, it certainly wasn’t my best.”

“Mmm,” Belle nodded in mock commiseration. “I’d a sneaking suspicion you could do better than name-dropping. At least, if what they say in town is true.” One well shaped eyebrow arched at him and a gaggle of butterflies seemed to have been unleashed in his belly.

Cheeky little thing, wasn’t she?

He’d have never suspected it from what little he’d seen of her before now.  He cleared his throat and pursed his lips. “Well, if my reputation is at stake, I’ll simply have to do better, now.” He considered the situation for a moment. “How about this:  I’ll give some of my best lines a little practice and pop round the library tomorrow to give them a go? Around, say… lunchtime?”

Belle’s dark lashes brushed her cheeks as she glanced down and then back at him, a smile playing around that rosebud mouth he couldn’t seem to stop glancing at. “I suppose I could scare up an extra sandwich for the occasion.” Her lips pressed together for a moment. “Um, do you like tea?”

***

As it turned out, Constable Macbeth did like tea.

She’d made two sandwiches that morning and put them in the mini refrigerator at the back of her office. Around noon, Belle put on the kettle and set a small table. The library was not likely to get busy until school let out for the day, so they would have plenty of time for a pleasant lunch. It was all very informal but she suspected Hamish wouldn’t mind in the slightest. He didn’t seem the type to stand on ceremony.

Belle felt the corners of her mouth turn up at that thought. The first time she remembered seeing Constable Hamish Macbeth he hadn’t even been in uniform. He was standing outside the Stag Bar smoking something that smelled quite herbal and he’d nodded at her as she went in. It was her first night in town and, at the time, she’d only been passing through.

Later that night, another tourist had started trouble with a local boy. Hamish, who stood barely a head above herself, had broken up the fight. From a secluded corner, Belle had watched him pull the much larger Lochdubh man into a nearby chair and shove a drink into his hand.  The two men spoke rapidly in undertones and she watched the tension in the bigger man’s face ease.

The tourist who had caused the ruckus was restrained by the barkeep. Hamish clapped the stranger on the shoulder and asked after the misunderstanding. Within a few minutes, the tourist had apologized and bought a round for the house. By the time Belle left, everyone was toasting one another with a smile, troubles forgotten.

Belle had been impressed. She had lived a lot of places and yet she’d rarely encountered such a warm and welcoming scene. Small towns were notoriously small minded. She’d grown up in one such town.  She’d been travelling for years, now. There had been some surprises along the way but no matter where she went, nothing ever really made her want to stay.

Until that first night in Lochdubh.

It had  seemed like kismet that the town happened to need a new librarian just as her funds were really starting to dwindle.

Belle had always liked books. She’d spent her childhood going on adventures of the mind, reading through novel after novel with her mother. After Mum was gone, the books took on new meaning, a link to the person she and Papa had loved most in the world. Sometimes she would read to her father after they had closed the flower shop for the day. He’d wanted her to move out, make something of her life, but Belle couldn’t just let him run the shop alone. As a compromise, she enrolled part time in University.

She’d been most of the way through a degree in library science when Papa passed. Suddenly, the shop didn’t seem so important, but his final wishes for her did. He had left her every penny he’d ever saved, with a note that she should do whatever her heart desired most. She sold the shop and hopped on the first airplane out of Australia.

Oh, and she had seen so many places and done so many things! She’d scaled a mountain to the summit and meditated with Tibetan monks. She had gone on an actual safari and very nearly touched an elephant. She’d seen ruins of every shape and size, taking pictures along the way. She’d backpacked through most of Europe and been to the top of the Eiffel tower.

Still, at  the back of her mind, there was a longing. As the years passed, it only grew stronger. She never regretted a moment of her travels, but when she was exploring the highlands and just happened to stop in Lochdubh, she knew what it was.

She wanted to build one and finally settle in. And she wanted to be somewhere she didn’t feel like a stranger.

Lochdubh, for all its quirks, welcomed her with open arms. It felt good. No, it felt wonderful to belong somewhere, again.  She had been alone for years now. At first, that was all she wanted. To be quietly accepted and made part of the furniture, as it were.

She kept remembering that first night at the Stag Bar. The handsome constable with the golden brown eyes and the easy smile.

Rumor had it that he was a bit of a cad, but Belle never put much stock in gossip. She’d been subject to that enough, growing up. Odd, they called her. A funny girl. Still, she had to be a little wary of throwing herself at a man she barely knew. She was exceedingly inexperienced with dating. There’d been little time for it when she was in school. On the road, it was the least of her concerns. There had been a beau or two along the way but never more than a vacation fling or a temporary travel companion.

When it came right down to it, Belle hadn’t the slightest idea how to go about gauging a man’s interest, let along courting it. She had been so eager not to look desperate the first time Hamish came around that she’d been quite unintentionally brusque with him. After that, he seemed to keep some distance and she figured she was far too busy with the library to worry about dating, anyway. A few other men in town had shown an interest in her but she politely turned them down.

She told herself that it was just practical not to jump into something, having just moved to town. Some part of her, however, knew she still had an eye for the constable. After their encounter in the bookstore, she was beginning to suspect her interest was not entirely one-sided.

Belle primped in the small mirror above the bathroom sink as she replayed their conversation the day before. She’d done quite well, all told. She had played it cool, like Lucille the saloon girl. Only perhaps a little less heavy handed with the innuendo. Either way, it had worked and he would be here any minute now.

The bell at the front desk rang and her heart leapt into her throat. Smoothing back a few last flyaway strands of hair, Belle smiled nervously at her reflection.

“You’ve got this. Be brave, girl. He’s only a man, after all.”

A sassy wink and she was out the door.

“Belle,” he greeted her with that slow, infectious smile, extending one hand.

“Good to see you again, Hamish.” Belle smiled back and clasped it firmly in hers. “Been practicing?” she teased.

“Actually,” he tilted his head to the side and produced his other hand from behind his back. In it, were two brand new copies of _To Die in the Saddle_. “I thought I’d let Left Hand Dan do the talking.”

Belle made an embarrassing noise and both hands flew to cover her mouth. Hamish looked intensely pleased with himself as he held out his offering.

 “He’s really back?” She shook her head, stunned, and accepted a copy of the book. She flipped it open immediately to read the inside cover. “Oh, I knew it! I knew he’d escaped! I knew they couldn’t really have killed him.”

He shrugged. “Well, some blokes like to bring flowers on a first date. But I say, know your audience.”

“Oh… oh Hamish… you shouldn’t have!” Her fingers ran reverently over the glossy dust jacket of the copy she held. “Where did you find it? Elbert didn’t even have the one she thought was in stock…”

Hamish’s grin widened. “Went up the road a bit last night to the big chain in Inverness. Got myself one too. Haven’t been able to put it down all morning.”

 Belle’s top teeth sunk into her lower lip as she looked at him over the edge of the book. “Don’t tell me a single thing, okay?”

Hamish held up a hand, palm out. “Won’t breathe a word, I swear. Oh, but wait til Chapter seven… you’re really gonna like it.”

Belle playfully swatted his arm. “Don’t you dare!”

He chuckled, eyes glinting with mirth as he deposited the other copy of the book on the desk at their side. “That copy is just for you, by the way. This one is for the library.”

Torn between the dueling urges to either kiss his perfectly smug face or forget his presence and devour the book in one sitting, Belle flung herself at him in a hug. He wrapped both arms around her with a chuckle.  Impulsively, she added a peck to the cheek, but he turned his head slightly and she caught the corner of his mouth instead. Before she knew exactly how it had happened, their lips were slanted together firmly. He crushed her to his slim chest, one hand coming up to cradle the back of her head, the other shaping her waist. Both of her arms were around his shoulders, one hand fisted in the back of his shirt and the other stroked his short hair. God, it was like frayed silk beneath her fingers….

She hummed her approval, parting her lips to suckle his bottom lip and he groaned, clutching her tighter. Against her stomach, she felt him hardening and she clenched her thighs together around the sudden rush of need that had centered between them.

And that’s when she remembered that they were in a well-lit library with open doors. In the middle of the day.

She broke the kiss, panting, and pulled back, “Um… sorry.”

Hamish’s eyes flew wide. “Sorry? Christ, if that’s how you say thank you, I’ll buy you any book in Scotland…”

Belle’s cheeks went flaming hot and she cleared her throat. “I haven’t um… it’s been a while since I’ve had anyone to… thank.”

He raised an eyebrow at that. “I’m honored.”

Belle felt herself blush all the harder. “Lunch?” she managed to squeak.

“Oh, aye.” His voice was low and his gaze hungry. Something told her it wasn’t for the neat little sandwiches she had tucked away for them. He licked his lips. Her gaze darted to the pink sliver of tongue and she swallowed hard. The air between them grew thick, neither quite sure what to say. Belle’s skin felt tight, as her pulse seemed to have settled itself low in her belly.

Well, she had not anticipated things moving this quickly between them… but she was never one to back away from something she wanted. Now that they’d been properly (and a little improperly acquainted) she was quite certain that she wanted Hamish.

It was still a few hours until school let out….

With a meaningful look, she crossed to the front door and locked it. Hamish grinned as she returned to the desk and took his hand.

“My office is this way, Constable….”

He twined his fingers through hers and followed her back.

***********************

_Chuck Sadler was not the swiftest of writers these days. Fans found themselves waiting ages for the next new release. He was getting on in years, a little arthritic, but he loved the work and the characters he'd created. So, there was one more Left Hand Dan book sent to publication. In it, Dan was finally exonerated of those false accusations. Not until after he'd risked life and limb for a daring train rescue, of course. Lucille, no longer a saloon girl but now proud outlaw in her own right, nursed him back to health. Dan had lost a leg but he'd survive. At the end, Lucille finally agreed to make an honest man of the reformed bandit._

_Chuck had requested two early copies be set aside for him to take with him on his trip to Lochdubh. A dear friend of his was getting married and apparently both members of the happy couple were big fans._

 


End file.
